Hello everyone!
I bring you a nice "what if..." from The Nightingale. I hope you enjoy. It is the same universe but without magic and everything is more beautiful and smooth. Of course, there is drama and heartbreak, but it has a very, very happy ending.
Disclaimer: Neither Bleach nor its characters belong to me, I only use them to satisfy my imagination.
Chapter 1
That afternoon, while the queen was reading the book of the Deities together with her ladies-in-waiting and the young women who lived in the palace, one of the maids entered the room and interrupted the reading about the Mother and her duties.
The queen, who hated being interrupted when she was in a meeting with her ladies, glared at the girl and demanded to know why she had interrupted her reading.
— Your Majesty, the Second Prince has returned to the kingdom.
Immediately after those words, the queen's mood changed radically and a huge smile spread on her face. The Second Prince returned from the war after having led the troops to the aid of the allies in the neighboring kingdom, and returned victorious.
The news came faster than men and in Adelaar they already knew that the alliance had won the war, that Vayalat had maintained its autonomy and that Cikram had fallen under the orders of the Commander of Avanta.
It was great news and a great reception was expected for the prince who returned victorious.
— Come on girls, go arrange your dresses and I'll see you all at the castle entrance.
The queen made all the ladies of the court leave the room and they did so full of emotion, as if their life would change just by putting on a prettier dress. As if the arriving prince was going to set his eyes on one of them to take her to bed.
— Not you, Rukia. — The queen said, stopping Rukia from leaving the room along with the other girls. — You look beautiful like this, but you can always look better. Come with me.
— Thank you, Your Majesty.
Rukia, whose cheeks flushed red at the queen's words, turned her steps and followed the queen through the corridors until she reached one of the queen's private rooms. Inside that room were the queen's maids, waiting for her to fulfill her requests like every day.
— You must be very excited, you will see Ichigo again after a long separation. — The queen said as she searched for something inside one of the drawers where she kept the royal family's jewels. — You have to be beautiful when he arrives because the first thing he will want is to see his fiancée after putting his life in danger, and it is vitally important that you look beautiful.
— I'm very excited, Your Majesty. I have prayed to the Deities that he return safely.
Rukia's cheerful and confident tone made the queen smile as she placed a beautiful sapphire necklace around her neck. Rukia simply allowed herself to be pampered by the queen, allowing her to do whatever she wanted with her.
— You and Ichigo are the perfect couple, and it's only fair that you get married soon. — The queen said again and Rukia had the courtesy to blush at her words.
— Your Majesty, thank you very much. I look forward to the wedding day.
Rukia looked at herself in the mirror and admired the necklace the queen had put on her, noting that it contrasted with her pale skin. It was a beautiful piece.
The queen dressed her, pampered her and bought her what she wanted.
Rukia's luck was enviable.
Her father was the king's best friend, having saved his life when King Isshin was still a young prince, and that had sparked a strong and lasting friendship. Because of that friendship, Rukia's family had moved into the War Palace, the official residence of the War Councilor, long before Rukia came into the world.
The friendship between the king and her father was so great that they had even promised that their first children would marry to further cement their relationship, which was almost brotherly. Unfortunately the first child of both men was a boy, but the second children, of a similar age, formed the couple they both had dreamed of.
And since birth, both Ichigo and Rukia were engaged.
The queen had insisted that Rukia move from the Palace of War to the Palace of Roses, the name given to that area where the Queen had her private rooms along with the rooms of the ladies who lived there, because it was a tradition that the daughters of the lords, the most beautiful and graceful, lived in the palace where they could get better prospects for husbands.
And since she was ten years old, Rukia had become the queen's protégé.
The Queen's Favorite they called her.
And she liked it.
She liked being treated like a princess because she would be one of them, she liked that her father always got her the best to look beautiful and she loved that the queen pampered her and fulfilled any whim that came her way.
She loved having access to anywhere she wanted to be.
She liked her life.
Her life was perfect, the only problem was that she was going to marry someone who didn't want to marry her, and that dislike was only matched by her pride: "If he doesn't want to marry me, I don't want to marry him either."
Although inside she was madly in love with that prince and really wanted to marry him.
Ichigo had war wounds, he had bruises that were healing and he had such a big scar on his back that for a moment they thought he wasn't going to survive. That last thing was something that neither his mother nor anyone in particular should know. He had gone to war and returned victorious, and that was all that mattered.
He had gone to war for a reason, not for glory or the love of battle, but to put off his marriage as long as he could. Since he had been declared commander of the kingdom, his engagement to the daughter of his father's best friend had been made official and he simply did not want to marry her.
Ichigo thanked the Deities that the conflict broke out in Vayalat and that he had to go support the allies, because it was the break he needed from the pressure in the palace regarding his marriage. However, Ichigo couldn't run away forever and had to go back and fulfill his obligations; so against his wishes, he returned to the kingdom.
— Mother, as beautiful as always. — Ichigo said as he got out of the carriage and saw his mother waiting for him with a huge smile on her lips.
— My dear son, welcome home. — The queen kissed his cheeks with too much happiness. — I know it was a long trip, but your father is waiting for you.
Ichigo nodded to what his mother said, because he knew that he should go with the king when he set foot in the palace, and he gave a quick glance to the other people in that welcome. There were all the ladies of the court, patiently waiting for him to fix his eyes on one of them to end up in his bed, and there was also Rukia, his fiancée and his mother's doll; the one his mother dressed as she wanted just because she could.
Ichigo fixed his gaze on Rukia and noticed that she had changed, she looked different. He thought she looked pretty. Very pretty.
— Your highness, welcome home. — Rukia's voice had changed, it was even more melodious than he remembered, and that puzzled him a bit.
— Miss Kuchiki, it makes me happy to see you. — Ichigo said that because that was what they expected him to say. — Have breakfast with me tomorrow, I've missed you.
Rukia nodded with a smile that Ichigo found charming and that moment of hesitation made the queen smile as well. A second later, he was heading to the Dome where his father was waiting for him to talk about what had happened in the war.
Her gallant fiancé, war hero, prince of the kingdom, the second most powerful man in the kingdom and she didn't know what else, had returned.
Rukia didn't like the idea of having breakfast with him because those breakfasts were silent and monotonous, uncomfortable to the point of exhaustion, but they had to have them once in a while because they were going to get married, sleep in the same bed and have children.
Rukia had no idea how the latter was going to happen, because he didn't want to be with her and her mind couldn't imagine that future with certainty.
She got up early and got dressed to have breakfast with Ichigo.
It was mid-autumn and that season on the cliff it was cold because of the sea breeze, so she put on a dress according to the season and went to one of the gardens of the Grand Palace, which was where she usually had breakfast with Ichigo.
— Lady Rukia, Prince Ichigo awaits you in the Cliff Hall. — One of the maids told her when she was halfway to her destination.
Rukia closed her eyes and tried to contain the small anger that Ichigo had caused her for not informing her in time that the place of that breakfast had changed, and she headed calmly to her new destination.
— Your Highness. Sorry for the delay, I had to go change my clothes so as not to get cold in this place. — Rukia said that even though it was a lie.
She had been late on purpose.
Ichigo was looking at the cliff, his back to her, when she arrived at the rendezvous. Rukia could tell that he had changed, his body had changed and even she dared to say that Ichigo's back looked different.
Rukia came to the conclusion that war changed men in more ways than one.
The place where they were going to have breakfast was big and spacious, there were plants growing on the rock because the Cliff Hall was basically a cave overlooking the cliff. It was quite a private and romantic place, but Rukia didn't see that last.
— Don't worry, Miss Kuchiki.
Ichigo stopped looking at the cliff, walked up to her and kissed her hand. It wasn't the first time he had done it, it was part of the court etiquette for being a couple and it was supposed to be the intimate way they greeted each other in public, but Rukia couldn't help but feel her heart pound at that little touch.
Breakfast was like all the breakfasts they'd had before he went off to war: boring, silent and with only the sound of cutlery on the plate when they ate. Having breakfast with Kaien used to be more fun, at least he would make jokes and tell her about his future wife, who was Vayalat's second cousin. Rukia didn't know her, but Kaien traveled often to see her.
Rukia was jealous of Kaien's relationship with his fiancée, the way he talked about her, and how much he loved her. Rukia had it all, except the anthology love she wanted with the man she wanted.
— It was a very good breakfast, Your Highness. I'm leaving, I don't want to take up your time anymore. — Rukia got up from her seat.
They had nothing to talk about and didn't know each other well enough to talk about anything important. They had lived under the same roof for years, but their relationship was always marked by the commitment that hung over them.
Rukia admitted that their relationship was sad and poor, and added to that, forced. She couldn't help but wonder how she was so in love with a man like Ichigo, that the most he wrote to her during the war was "I hope you're okay, Miss Kuchiki".
— Don't go, Rukia. We need to talk.
Ichigo's voice sounded like it always was, serious and bored, but Rukia nodded and sat back down because that's what she was supposed to do.
— What do you want to talk about, your highness? — She asked calmly, looking at a point of nowhere behind Ichigo, deliberately avoiding looking into those eyes that used to make her sigh.
— About our wedding. — Ichigo spoke without much emotion and Rukia looked at him somewhat surprised.
It was no secret to her that Ichigo had gone to war to postpone that wedding and maybe he wanted to postpone it again. Rukia smiled bitterly and her pride showed up, if she was going to marry someone who didn't love her, then she wasn't going to beg for their affection.
— Do you expect another war to break out and our wedding to be postponed again? — Rukia asked wryly making Ichigo frown angrily. — I know you don't want to marry me, Your Highness, so let me tell you that I'll make things easier for you. Let's do what we must do, I'll go on with my life and you can do what you want with yours. I know the girls of the queen's court are dying to spend a night in your bed and I really don't care who you spend the night with. The only thing that matters is that I will give you children, and I can do it by spending only one night a month in your bed, maybe two.
After Rukia finished speaking, she got up from her seat and walked out of there.
Ichigo had a speech prepared to apologize to her for his attitude towards her and to try to make amends to make their marriage bearable, but that all went to hell when Rukia started talking. He'd even changed the breakfast location to make it nicer to have that talk, but none of it helped.
Ichigo was in a bad mood all day and the following days, until Kaien announced that his fiancée would be arriving in a few days to finish the preparations for the wedding that would be in winter.
The entire castle was excited for that event, it had been so long since the engagement between Kaien and Miyako had been agreed, that even they were late for their own wedding. At first they had postponed it because Miyako had gotten sick, then because Kaien had gotten sick, and finally because the war had started and they didn't want to get married while there was war.
But at that time everything was fine and there was no way that this wedding would not take place.
Rukia hadn't spoken to him again but she went to the invitations he made her, whether it was for breakfast, lunch or dinner. If it was private, then it was a grim and silent event, as his attempts to start a conversation were shot down with a monosyllabic comment from Rukia, who seemed to eat more quickly on purpose to get out of there. Instead, if everyone was at that dinner, then Rukia would smile and look like a lovely lady who could talk about almost any topic that was brought to the table.
At those dinners, Rukia was delicate and charming, and Ichigo used to think that she looked too pretty like that.
Ichigo realized how much he liked Rukia when he realized that getting angry because she laughed with Kaien at some silly thing at any time of the day was not normal.
Ichigo liked Rukia and it took him a long time to realize that.
Rukia would be the Princess of the People and that was why the queen had instructed her for that position. She went to town once a week and helped out at the church, at soup kitchens for the homeless, or at the orphanage that she herself had helped create, and Ichigo was going with her because his mother made him go with her.
The times they went together, Rukia would hold his hand or arm, she would pretend very well that she was in love with him and it annoyed him.
He hated that she pretended they were the perfect match because he liked her, and he hated that she had said that she would make it easier for him to sustain this marriage because he had found himself fantasizing about her so many times.
He also noticed how much people loved Rukia.
The people of the town gave her flowers and sweets when they saw her, and they looked for her to thank her for what she had done for them. The children at the orphanage loved her and asked her to tell all kinds of stories when she went to see them.
Rukia always complied with the request of the children who laughed and were happy with what she gave them every time she went to that place.
Ichigo liked Rukia's naturalness in those moments and he guessed that the queen was delighted with it, but he was annoyed by the way she smiled at him when they were in public, as if she was in love with him, and then that smile vanished just as they returned to the interior of the carriage.
It also bothered him that Rukia laughed with Kaien when they were all together. He had never felt jealous of his brother, but seeing the close relationship between Kaien and her made him feel that way.
Because it was with Kaien and not with him.
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